1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet printer configured to eject very small ink droplets from a nozzle onto a recording medium, such as a recording sheet, so as to form an image on the recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Inkjet printers are designed to eject ink from a nozzle of a recording head so as to form an image on a recording sheet. Thus, if air bubbles or foreign materials clog the nozzle, for example, the nozzle cannot normally eject the ink and an image cannot be formed on the recording sheet. Similarly, if the water content of the ink in the nozzle evaporates, thereby excessively increasing the ink viscosity so as to clog the nozzle, the nozzle may be prevented from normally ejecting the ink and an image cannot be formed on the recording sheet.
To avoid such a situation, an inkjet printer as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-94673, for example, executes a vacuum purging operation for exhausting air from a nozzle cap using a suction pump, with the nozzle cap covering a nozzle, to thereby suck ink from the nozzle to remove air bubbles or materials clogging the nozzle.
Then, after the vacuum purging operation, the nozzle cap is moved off the nozzle surface to separate residual ink on the nozzle surface from residual ink in the nozzle cap.
When the nozzle cap is moved off the nozzle surface, an ink bridge (i.e., ink that forms a bridge from the nozzle cap to the nozzle surface) is produced. At this time, if the ink bridge is cut while the nozzle cap is moved, as in the invention disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-94673, it is uncertain whether the ink bridge will be cut on the nozzle surface side or the nozzle cap side. The ink bridge might be cut on the nozzle cap side according to the circumstances, with the result that a large amount of ink containing air bubbles or foreign materials remains on the nozzle surface.
In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to avoid, at the time of a vacuum purging operation, such a situation in which a large amount of ink containing air bubbles or foreign materials remain on a nozzle surface.